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A possible ritual for the future
[ETA: I'm going to tweak this a bit as I think of improvements.]
Elseforum, I was in a conversation about how the-end-of-the-plague might work emotionally for people. We're collectively in a time of serious trauma, not just individually but as a society. There is hope (knock on wood) that sometime next year that might gradually draw to an end. What then?
While we're not very used to it in current Western society, this is kind of what ritual is for. Ritual tends to define a liminal space, between This State and That. There's a reason we talk about "rites of passage" -- major life events are often accompanied by ritual, sometimes formal and sometimes not.
It occurs to me (as a longtime, if currently inactive, ritualist) that next year might be a time for a bespoke, explicit ritual, to acknowledge and internalize the end of the plague. So here's a very brief, very simple, very first-draft thought, for communities that are into that sort of thing. Comments, extensions, rewrites, adaptations welcome.
A more serious ritual could easily be ten times this length (this is just a minute or two each, with most of that time simply being embracing), but this is the core idea: provide an emotional context for coming back together in person, accepting that closeness and touch is now something we can do again, and providing some small amount of catharsis for folks.
The rhythm here is rather Masonic, just because that's the flavor of ritual I know best; different communities of ritual practice will want to adapt the wording and concepts to their own style. Some might want to inject some spirituality, but I've intentionally left this version more humanist.
Setting
Any space (indoor or out) large enough for everyone. Everyone present should be vaccinated by this point -- this ritual is about acknowledging that reality, and internalizing it. The Masked are on one side of the space, separated six feet from each other; the Community are on the other side, together.
Terminology
Masked: those who have no yet been through the ritual. All should be wearing standard covid masks, of whatever style suits them.
Community: those who have been through the ritual. (Calling this "Community" is potentially controversial, but the point here is to rejoin as a community, physically and in-person, post-covid.)
Candidate: the person actively going through this. Members of the Masked will take turns.
Officiant: the member of the Community actively bringing the Candidate in.
Ritual
Candidate steps forward, towards the center of the space.
Officiant: Who comes here?
Candidate: I am [Name], here to re-enter the community.
Officiant: Do you promise that you are ready?
Candidate: I am shielded (raises vaccinated arm, and points to the injection spot), and believe that I pose no danger.
Officiant: You may unmask.
Candidate removes their mask.
Officiant: Welcome, [Name]. (Embraces Candidate.) Please rejoin the Community, and share our space and air.
Candidate goes to the Community side of the space, and is embraced by each in turn.
Repeat for each member of the Masked, until all have rejoined the Community.
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My immediate potential weird is the "embraced by all part" but if we are letting Candidates set their comfort level (hug or handshake or whatever) that helps with it.
(I am generally a very hug-friendly person except when I am suddenly and strongly Not and I try to use that to be aware of other people not.)
I also really _really_ like the framing of being "a ritualist". I don't think I've heard that wording before, and I should do more looking into it since the word resonates. (Basically all of my casting/praying appears ritual even when most of it is entirely spur-of-the-moment what do my gods say Looks Right right now).
~Sor
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Yeah, good point: all of this needs to be adapted to the comfort and needs of the people involved.
It's actually a semi-official job in Freemasonry -- not quite the same thing as a Director on stage, but basically the person whose job is to understand the ritual deeply, and teach/coach others in how to do it well.
(Masonic ritual is Very Very Reified. It varies a bit based on jurisdiction, but is still at least similar to the way it got codified 300 years ago. Making that both compelling and clear is an artform that most members don't know much about.)
Having been Master of my Lodge once, and having kind of hated it, I made a deal with the Lodge that I would be Ritualist in perpetuity, in exchange for not having to step into the East again. I enjoy doing that a lot, to the point where I many years ago wrote a much-reprinted short article on the subject -- basically teaching the rudiments of acting for Freemasons.
I've largely drifted out of Masonry, semi-deliberately (there are aspects of it that just don't work for me any more), but I do miss the ritual side of things quite a bit -- it's an itch that I need to find new ways to scratch...
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Yay!
The rhythm here is rather Masonic, just because that's the flavor of ritual I know best; different communities of ritual practice will want to adapt the wording and concepts to their own style.
+1.
The big thing that jumped out at me is how hierarchical the above ritual is. It strikes me as something well-suited to a church, or community center, or (with adaptation for scale) a convention; and less well suited for peer-to-peer reconnection.
I would want something very different for "two individuals/household-groups who have not seen each other in person since the pandemic meet again". In that context, there's no pre-existing Community, and no Officiant per se (though having a leading speaker may be useful for practical reasons); it would by necessity have to be reciprocal / symmetrical. (I've seen such things work well, so I'm sure it can be done.)
In that context, I suspect some key things to touch on are:
* It has been long since we saw each other. It has been hard.
* Now we see each other. It is a good change (perhaps w/acknowledgement of awkwardness / may not be easy)
* We move out of the past into a new world. We will be able to see each other.
Basically, acknowledging the difficulties of the past, the mixed joys and challenges of the present, and the anticipation of a better future.
Also, since it's a small thing one would do many times with various other groups, it should be pretty concise.
Very rough first-draft below.
Structure: For each line below, one person states it first, then in turn (what order?) all others echo it, either literally or in sentiment. For those who find ritual intimidating, just echoing back the last little thing said will work fine.
A: "It has been long since we were together. We have had to hide ourselves from the world. It has been hard."
(Others, in turn): "(......) It has been hard."
A: "Now, we break down the wall between us and come together. It is a change. We stand together again.
(Others, in turn): "(.......) We stand together again."
A: "We move out of the past into a new world. We will be able to see each other when and where we please. The future brings joy."
(Others, in turn): "(.......) The future brings joy."
Possible changes:
* I think it wants one more bit in there reminiscent of the "are you shielded" bit from yours, or else to incorporate that into line 2
* Not entirely satisfied with 3rd line, esp. ending.
* It might be easier to just formally structure the non-main bits as echoes of the final phrases.
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Yep -- that's the Masonic influence. Masonic ritual is mainly rite-of-entry, where the Candidate is being accepted into the Order (or into a higher Degree within the Order) and instructed in what that means, so it is usually structured as one of the officers (typically the Senior Deacon or Master) taking the Candidate through the process.
(In general, Masonry is very hierarchical. There are some real benefits to that -- among other things, going through the Line of Officers a fine formal schooling in responsible leadership -- but it rubs along a bit uncomfortably with today's less-formal age.)
Good to see a different take on the idea, and that's kind of the point: to encourage folks to think about what might work for their community when the time comes. We're all going to need a lot of healing, and providing some sort of liminal space may help that a bit.
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I prefer sequential -- IMO, parallel ceremonies lose some of their emotional punch. As for how many, that depends on everyone's patience: certainly up to ten should work, but at some point everyone would become tired.